So i bought my 06 dodge ram 1500 4x4 with 56k on it about 40 days ago and just dropped $900 on a new LR shift solenoid. WTF! Of course i did not buy the extended warranty and it was just days outside the dealers 30day/1000 mile warranty. go figure.

So now i am noticing that on level highway driving, it will not settle into MDS at all. i read the sticky at the top of these posts and it says that these trucks will come in and out of MDS, but ever other second on a level highway. the transmission guy that replaced my solenoid said that there was a lot of torque converter material in my pan, which makes sense if the thing is constantly coming in and out of lock up because it can never figure out if it wants to go to 4 cylinders or not.

So i was talking to my brother and he thinks it is exhaust related. here is why, the guy that had the truck before me cut the y-pipe out and ran 2 long pipes to a set of flowmaster 40's welded together vertically and then out tail pipes under the bumper. Very cheaply done. I guess the lack of back pressure there causes the MDS to never know when to go in and out. Is this true?

another question, is that i heard that the diablo sport tuners have been known to cause issued with the 5-45rfe transmissions. i am running one now and wonder if this caused the issue whet the shift solenoid. is this true as well.

thanks for helping out a new dodge truck owner. I had a ford before for over 10 years and I am beginning to wonder why the hell i bought a dodge.

Pete

 

LOL, I used to be a Furd guy too until I had one that was in the shop a lot and the one that replaced it dropped a piston with 14k on it.

It's hard to make an assessment like that based on one used truck purchase, because just based on the exhaust setup, it's a good bet that truck was dogged before you bought it.

As far as the Diablo goes, yes it's true they had bad issues blowing up transmissions when they first introduced the tuner, but I've not heard of the problem in quite a while now.

If you are running a Diablo, why not disable MDS and see if your transmission issue goes away.

I dunno if your shift issues are really MDS related or more transmission related. With solid materials in the transmission, I dunno if just a solenoid would be a solid fix. Sounds to me like a rebuild might be in order.

 

i turned the tow haul mod on and the truck does not hunt for a gear. MDS is off with the tow haul mode on correct? that's how i narrowed it down to the MDS.

How much does a rebuild cost with a new converter?

we have had a 06 Magnum R/T and love it since it was new. this truck seems to be a different animal.

 

Just got a full rebuild and new torque converter for about 2200 in my 06... lol mine seized up at 70mph threw the drive shaft and exploded the transfer case, mine was doin the same thing it sounds like yours is, get it checked ASAP

 

Then I would just use the tuner to turn off MDS all the time, almost everyone who has done this reports BETTER fuel economy than when MDS is on.

As for rebuild, I dunno, never had one done and I'm not good with what costs are for repairs as I do all my own work (except for differentials and transmissions which are like voodoo to me and luckily I've never needed tranny work). Someone who has had to have it done should chime in. BUT you don't need to take it to the guy who did the solenoid because the last post I read on here where someone had the LR transmission solenoid replaced in his '04 Hemi 1500 it cost him $270.

edit: Nevermind, Jorgy already posted cost for his tranny rebuild...

 

anyone care to chime in on the lack of back pressure affecting the MDS?

 

It should not effect the MDS. At speeds above 55mph, it will hunt a lot. The wind resistance is too much to keep the truck at speed in 4 cyl mode. Just turn it off as mentioned above.